Chapter Two

When Kurt walked to his locker the next morning, yawning his head off after a sleepless night going over and over in his head the events of the previous afternoon, he was surprised to see the focal point of his whirling thoughts already standing waiting for him. He smiled tentatively, warily scanning Blaine's posture and body language for clues. He hadn't wished so hard to be able to sense other people's emotions in years...

Blaine stood straight when he saw Kurt, his expression nervous as he clutched in his hands two takeaway cups of coffee from the Lima Bean. He held one out to Kurt, and immediately started babbling so fast that Kurt had to concentrate to keep up. "Hi! Morning, hi. So, I didn't know your coffee order but I asked Cooper and he reckoned stick simple so I let him pick so I'm sorry if it's not what you like and god, you probably don't even like coffee do you? I'm such an idiot! But I don't have your number or anything so I couldn't ask you and you can just throw it away or whatever and I'm being creepy now aren't I and you probably want to ask for a locker transfer or something and I can do that if you want, but I don't know if they even let you do that and-"

"Blaine stop!" Kurt laughed, raising his voice to try and stem the stream of words. He laughed as Blaine's mouth immediately snapped shut, that beautiful blush staining his cheeks. Kurt smiled kindly, taking the offered cup, carefully avoiding brushing their fingers just in case the events of yesterday were a mistaken fluke. "For the record, I love coffee, and my order is a non-fat mocha. But may I enquire as to the occasion?"

Blaine worried his lips between his teeth, fidgeting with his own cup, "I wanted to apologise for yesterday, how I behaved..." Here we go, Kurt thought. A parting cup of coffee and a 'sorry I didn't realise you were so freaky please never touch me again'. But then Blaine continued, "It's just... I'm kinda an impulsive person and sometimes when that's combined with my really misguided ideas I end up over-stepping and freaking people out... and I don't want to freak you out because I've been trying to work out how to talk to you since I got here and persuade you that I'm not weird..."

Kurt stared at him, disbelieving. If it was anyone else, he would suspect them of some sort of cruel joke, but instinct told him that just wasn't Blaine's style, "You want to persuade me that you're not weird?" Kurt asked incredulously.

"Well... yeah..."

For a moment, Kurt was prepared to go on the defensive, to snipe about how everyone else acted around him and why would Blaine want to be near him let alone touch him? But the gorgeously tentative, hopeful smile on the other boy's face stopped him short, and he found himself smiling shyly in return, "Coffee is always appreciated, but you didn't need to apologise. I... I like hugs. And... and if you want to get to know each other, I think I'd really like that too."

Blaine's face split into a blinding smile, and Kurt could never regret his words. He took a sip of his still-warm coffee, and nearly choked. Blaine looked startled, "Are you okay?"

"Oh my god Blaine, I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything but how much sugar did you put in this?!" Kurt spluttered.

Blaine frowned, popping off the lid of his own cup before taking a cautious sip from the rim. He made a face, "I'm so sorry! Coop must've mixed up the cups when he handed them to me. This one's yours."

They switched, and Kurt sipped his new one. So much better. He eyed Blaine in amusement as the other boy somehow managed to take a sizable gulp of the sugar-laden coffee, "How can you drink that? I shudder to think the combined caffeine and sugar high you'll get off that later."

Blaine shrugged, "You get used to it. I don't usually make mine quite this sweet, but if Cooper buys me one he always adds as much sugar as he can get his hands on." Blaine smiled with a fond yet rather long-suffering smile, and Kurt had to ask.

"So, Cooper is..?"

"My big brother. He normally lives in New York, but he's in between plays and so's been staying with us for a while. He's a little... overprotective. He's insisted on driving me to and from school since I started here, hence him being involved in the coffee stop." Blaine's put-upon tone was completely counteracted by the way he smiled when talking about his brother. He clearly secretly enjoyed Cooper's company. At least that explained the man Tina had been drooling over.

They started walking slowly in the direction of their different homerooms before the first bell, "My step-brother's an idiot at the best of times, but I'm really starting to enjoy having him around now they've moved in. You probably saw him when you were spying on our glee rehearsals. Finn – huge guy, can't dance to save his life?"

Blaine grinned, "Yeah, I remember him. And I don't spy! I just sort of... sit in and watch at the back... I like the singing. You've got an amazing voice."

"Yeah, well we do try." Kurt shrugged, "We're going to Regionals in a couple of weeks!"

Blaine grinned. "I'm not contesting that as a group you sound amazing, but I said you've got an amazing voice!" He seemed to realise how forward he had just sounded, and suddenly babbly, shy Blaine was back, "Sorry. I'm starting to really seem like a stalker, aren't I?"

Kurt laughed, blushing, "I really don't mind. And... thank you. No one's said I sound amazing before."

"Well you do." Blaine said decisively, as if that was the end of the matter.

Kurt took a sip of his coffee, not quite knowing how to handle a beautiful boy walking an inch from his elbow and freely offering him compliments. He did know that he loved the warm feeling coiling in his stomach, and the electric prickling over his skin. He was already falling hard. "This is me." Kurt stopped at the entrance to a classroom. Blaine seemed to fidget, as if unsure what to do, so Kurt once again took a chance, "You want to meet up for lunch?"

Blaine stuttered, worrying his lip between his teeth, "Umm... I don't really like the cafeteria..." He looked embarrassed for some reason. Personally, Kurt could completely understand a person having an aversion to that disgusting zoo of a room.

"That's okay. A few of my glee friends said they were going to hang out in one of the dance rooms for lunch, if you want to join?"

Blaine grinned, clearly relieved, "That'd be great!" He checked his watch. The first bell was sure to ring soon, and he still had to find his way to his own registration, "I should go. See you at lunch then?"

"Definitely. Oh, wait!" Blaine spun on his heel looking back at Kurt expectantly, "Give me your phone?" Obediently, Blaine handed his phone over, and Kurt quickly entered his number before giving it back, "Now you can text me all you like."

Blaine grinned, quickly firing off a simple smiley face to Kurt's number, "And so can you."

It wasn't until Kurt slumped down at his desk in between an infuriatingly grinning Mercedes and Rachel that he experienced a form of delayed shock. He had just given another boy his number, as casual and confident as anything. A boy who had bought him coffee. Who was drop-dead gorgeous and mysterious and shy and cute and just... Who had hugged him. Oh. My. God.

Rachel made an odd sniffing, squealing noise that was hard to define as acting or just Rachel being Rachel, "Kurt Hummel, I am so proud of you right now!"

"Damn. You have got to get on that Kurt! You two would make such a hot couple!" Mercedes smirked. "You don't need to be Sensitive to see that he is so into you!"

Kurt just offered them a shocked silent smile.

Oh. My. God.

TBC